Sunrises and Sunsets
by Em74
Summary: Snow's Preparatory Academy- home of the Fighting Scorpions and some of the most esteemed teachers, smartest students, and talented athletes. Clove Flare comes to District Four to attend the school, prepared to deal with the honors courses, the finding new friends, and the making new enemies. But is she prepared to deal with Panem's own Cato King? {HS AU w/ Clato, Everlark, Odesta}
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything you recognize in this story.

**Rating: **T {swearing}

Chapter One - Clove's POV

"Clove! Hurry up with those bags! We need to leave in 5 minutes if we're going to get to school on time!" a high-pitched voice yelled to me, the sound muted a bit by the walls of our house.

I roll my eyes and headed down the stairs. My descent was less than graceful, since I was kind of forced to stomp down the steps by the over-stuffed duffel bag weighing down my right arm and the white pack loaded with books that was giving me a mild hunchback. Not to mention the two suitcases I was wrestling with my left arm, and at least one of them managed to hit the railing at every step. I finally made it to the door, called out a very flustered, final "goodbye!" to my family, and I managed to get everything through the doorway and even close the front door behind me before letting all the luggage drop on the porch, myself following suit.

My sister, waiting for me by the hood of the minivan my parents gave her as a high school graduation gift, screeched and hurried up the driveway to rescue her belongings. After she dragged me to my feet, Jayla and I managed to get her duffel bag, her suitcase, and my suitcase into the trunk; my sister then proceeded to shove me and my backpack into the passenger's seat before hopping into the driver's side, starting up the 2-year-old car and pulling out of our dusty driveway onto the slightly less dusty road in a minute flat.

The early morning District Two sun was coming in through the windshield full-force, so I snapped my visor down and turned to my sister, "What's the rush, Jay?"

My sister sighed exhaustedly, tugging a lightly tanned hand through her blonde hair. "We're going to be late, that's the rush. I wanted to leave half an hour ago. I mean, if we can't get you to District Four by noon tomorrow, there's no way I can get up to Twelve by 8. And if I don't get there on time-" Jayla cut herself off with a shake of her head, mumbling 'don't get stressed, don't get stressed' softly under her breath.

I rolled my eyes and laughed lightly at her. I'm not much of a psychiatrist, but anyone could see that Jayla, quite simply, was an obsessive control freak. She liked things to go her way and to go smoothly, and was always bothered if she couldn't manage what was going on. "Jay, it's not the end of the world if either of us is a little late."

She took a deep breath in, closed her eyes, and then nodded exhaling. "You're right, nothing to worry about." she stated decidedly, but I still saw her drumming her fingers nervously on the steering wheel.

* * *

All attempts Jayla made to keep from worrying faded away in the morning, seeing that she woke me up at seven a.m. after we had only received about six hours of sleep at some rickety motel in District Eleven, convinced we'd never make it to my boarding school by the time she wanted, and dragged me out to the minivan.

That's how we ended up an hour from my new high school at just before 9 o'clock in the morning.

This was also when Jayla decided it was the optimal time to get mushy.

I tuned most of it out; I had heard the same things being repeated several times in the past few weeks. "Oh, I'll miss you so much Clove!" and "It's going to be so hard to be so far away from you!", but I doubted that most of my classmates that were saying this would even remember me a few weeks into the new year. I couldn't blame them though, because I would probably forget about most of them, too. Aside from Jayla, my parents and my older brother Eli were some of the few people who I would actually miss, as well as my closer friends. They were also the ones who tried to convince me not to transfer to Snow's Preparatory Academy, on the oceanside in Panem's fourth district, and instead stay in Two for my junior and senior years. I heard about the school's opening between semesters last year and was ready to apply and transfer then, but my parents agreed to let me finish out high school at the boarding school if I would finish sophomore year at home. They thought I would realize what a hassle moving would be when Jayla came back from her first semester at college. They thought she would've hated it and been complaining.

But she didn't hate it, I didn't change my mind about applying to the private school, and now we were 1,000 miles from home and I was anything but regretting my choices. Except for the choice to have the nervous wreck that is Jayla drive me to school, since her mushiness inexplicably manages to increase once we crossed District Four's borders.

She was my sister though, and so I did my best to listen and respond with "yes I will call you" and "I'll miss you too" and "I love you, Jayla", because a) she is my sister and I do love her and b) I was scared that she might have a panic attack from her anxiety, start sobbing, and drive me home and condemn me to a boring life in a boring house with almost-not-but-still-slightly boring people in Two. So, really, there was no option and so I had to keep her from crying for the better part of an hour.

Once we arrived at my school, I braced myself for a possible breakdown from Jayla, and got out of the van, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and retrieving my stuffed suitcase. I closed the back door, and went to the drivers side to see if Jayla was coming, only to find that the window was rolled down, her seatbelt was still in place, and the car was still on.

"You're not gonna help me unpack?" I asked, confused. Maybe I was expecting her to be more like mom and insist to carry something and triple check that I had everything and be reluctant to leave me alone at school.

"If I'm there, there's no opportunity for a hot senior to come and help you carry your bags and find your room." she winked at me, smiling slightly, but I could still see she was forcing herself to seem cheerier than she actually was for my benefit. I couldn't stop the smile that tugged at the corner of my lips. She gestured for me to back up from the car, and she drove out of the parking lot in front of the administration building, sticking her arm out the window and waving as a final goodbye, shouting "make friends!" as the sun-faded, blue van pulled away.

I smiled widely at the retreating car, giving a small wave, and walked into the administration office.

* * *

Inside I had met a very calm and collected young secretary, who was only frazzled for a moment that a student was here a full two hours before the suggested time. Her name was Miss Paylor, she had informed me, and I watched quietly as she rifled through hundreds of papers, handing me a select few, before plopping a room key on top of the pile saying "Room 33." and giving me a smile. A bright smile, one that I bet won't last through the first day of students back on campus. I smiled back; might want to practice it so it doesn't seem forced when I start to 'make friends'.

I emerge from the building, letting the door slam behind me. I flip through my papers: schedule, handbook, forms; but no map of the campus. I curse under my breath and look around, trying to see if I can find the dorm building. Jayla seemed to forget that as a result of being early, there would be no hot senior to take me to my room, and even if there was there was probably a 2% chance one would actually approach me. They'd probably assume I was a freshman because of my height. And Jayla also seemed to forget that I was a small, pale, and easily unnoticable girl with a face that I constantly had to tell people was "just my face" since people seemed to think I was angry because my lips did this puckery thing and my eyebrows went down like I was constantly pissed off, and my nose, like the rest of my features, were sharp.

I roll my eyes at myself, because I knew I shouldn't think about the bad things about me and focus on the good things and yada yada. Everyone knows it's not actually that easy, but I still know that the yada yada is right. I sigh inaudibly, and thumb through the papers again, as if it would make a map appear.

"Need help?"

I jump slightly at the noise, looking back up and squinting against the too bright sun, seeing the figure of a girl walking towards me.

Once she got closer, I could make out her bright grey eyes and long brown hair pulled into a braid down her back. She had on a green tanktop, dark jeans, and leather boots, as well as a simple chain around her neck. And even though she had offered to help me, she wasn't smiling superficially.

I liked this girl already.

I suddenly realized she was still waiting for an answer, and mumbled a 'yeah' before clearing my throat and saying, "Do you know where the dorms are?" The girl only nodded, and started walking, and I followed her, adjusting my backpack on my shoulders and dragging my suitcase over the concrete pathway.

We ended up falling into step with each other, but conversation refused to start up. It seemed like I had met my match when it came to sucking at small talk.

"Um, what grade are you in?" '_Way to be awkward_' I thought to myself, but the girl seemed relieved to not have to start the conversation herself.

"This is my junior year." She says, and I nod, saying that I'm in 11th grade too. She nods in return, before continuing on. "I transferred here in the middle of last year, and there were only about 60 students, in total, because you know, how it's a really long and tough application."

I did know. It had taken me two weeks to fill out mine with the pressure of knowing that only 10% of applicants actually got accepted.

She pauses as we enter a brick building labeled 'Blair', and the cool air that envelops me comes as a welcome relief to the hot weather outside. "My mom says that this year we'll have triple that."

"Your mom works here?" I ask as we step onto the elevator, Katniss' thumb trailing up past the L, 1, and 2 before she reaches the button marked 3, which glows a bright yellow as she presses down.

"Mmmhmm," she hums, "That's why I'm here so early; "perks" of being the daughter of the school nurse." The girl rolls her silver eyes, adorning the word perks with air quotes. I laugh softly, stopping abruptly when she turns to me quizzically. "Why are you here so early though?"

"The "perks" of being driven by your older sister who's obsessed with having a record of never being late for anything ever." I reply, mimicking her air quotes, which earns the first real smile I've seen from her, and I smile back, the gesture being much less forced than I anticipated.

The elevator dings, and we step out onto the carpeted floor. "This is the junior floor. Your room is right over…" she trails off as she leads me a few feet from the elevators, "here." She gestures to the door marked with the number 33. "I'm right down the hall, in 35. I got here yesterday afternoon with the rest of the teachers, but I'm kind of a procrastinator so I still need to unpack. So I guess I'll be seeing you around?"

"Yeah," I agree. "I'm Clove, by the way. Clove Flare."

"Katniss Everdeen." the girl -Katniss- says as she unlocks her room and steps inside, shutting it behind her with a soft _click_.

I grab the key off the top of my pile of papers, stick it in the keyhole, and push the door open.

I notice that the room is painted a crisp white, the color my backpack originally was, but the thing that really draws my attention is the sliding glass door that opens up onto a balcony. The second thing that I see is that from my room I have an amazing view of Panem's east ocean. I drop my bag onto the single bed that's nearest to the door, stand my luggage in the doorway, and run-walk over to the glass door and onto the balcony.

The sun is high up above my head, the sky and the water are both brilliant blue, and the ocean breeze reaches me even four stories up. I stretch lazily. "So much better than Two." I mumble to myself.

After a few minutes of just standing there taking it all in, I turn walk back inside, sliding the door closed behind me to keep the hot air out. I head back to my doorway to pick up my abandoned suitcase, leaving the door to my dorm slightly open. I remove the bedding jammed inside of it and toss it onto the bed I claimed, leaving the bunk-bed with a bed on top and a desk underneath for my roommate. I roll the suitcase to the closet, designate the left half of the space for me, and begin unpacking my clothes. Tanktops, t-shirts, a few long sleeve shirts and sweaters, two sweatshirts (one from my old school and one from Jayla's college), short-shorts, capris, leggings, jeans, athletic tops and shorts, two bathing suits, and the six pairs of shoes I brought to school manage to fit on the two hanging racks, three drawers, and the space underneath the drawers in my half of the closet. Hopefully my roommate isn't one of the preps that brings three suitcases for clothes alone.

I fill the bookcase on the wall my bed is against with plenty of books: John Green, J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, and several other authors' books make home on the shelves. I go and make my bed, place an ample amount of pillows, and fling myself onto it. I sigh in content, close my eyes, and, due to only sleeping 6 hours last night, fall asleep.

* * *

A pounding sounds on my door, and my eyes flutter open to see Katniss standing in the doorway, one hand holding the door steady as the other hand knocks.

"Kat," I greet her, jumping off my bed and landing on my feet. "What's up?"

"It's quarter of 12, and I figured you'd want the grand tour of the place before all the douchedicks flood the place." she tells me. I let out a very loud laugh, and Katniss smirks at me, raising an eyebrow, "You think I'm kidding?"

"No, I believe you. I mean, the combination of being spoiled, athletic, smart, preppy, and or attractive must really make the ultimate douchedick." I laugh, Katniss joining me with her much softer, less horse-like laugh. She steps out of the doorway, and I follow her to the elevator.

After leaving the girls' dormitory, we walk a grand total of 25 yards to the boys' dormitory, labeled Maxwell. Katniss says something about how Maxwell and Blair were the names Principal Snow's grandson and granddaughter respectively, mumbling "I know too much about this school" at the end of her 'fun fact'.

The two dorms are next to one another, a road in the middle of them. The office with the much-too-smiley lady is two buildings down, at the front gate. In between are the theatre and the library, and Katniss points out the gym behind the boys' dorms and the cafeteria a little bit up the hill. The academic buildings are up behind the caf.

"It's too hot for the grand tour, so we can walk to the office and call it a day." Katniss laughs, and we head back towards the administration building. "I'll introduce you to my friends."

As I'm about to respond, we turn the corner and I collide with something hard. I stumble back, and two arms wrap around me to keep me falling, and my hands go to the person's chest.

"Sorry," I start, looking up and into two eyes that, I shit you not, were the same color as the water in the nearby ocean. I try to back up, but the boy keeps his grip. I see that his amazing eyes are on pale face with an angular jaw, and his blonde hair is spiked up to keep it from falling into his eyes. He flashes a smile, but, to put it bluntly, I'm too busy staring at his face. _What was I gonna say?_

"My bad." He tells me, still smiling, as he slowly takes away his arms, still keeping the slightest bit of pressure that is able to send chills up my spine. _Stop it, Clove. You don't even know him. Stop reacting this way to this guy who's probably the king of all the douchedicks. I mean, look at how he carries himself, and his clothes, and his eyes… _

The boy steps back, flashes a grin, and sends me a wink as he saunters off. _Yeah, just like I thought. _

Katniss hooks her arm around mine and drags me around the corner, and then stops walking and whispers, "Congratulations, you just survived your first conversation with _him._"

I don't even bother asking why she said "him" like that, because I want to decide whether he is a good person or not for myself. Instead I ask, "Who was that?"

"Think of him like this: he's the love child of God and Satan who was then put into human form because h-"

"No," I say, shaking my head and smiling amusedly, "I meant what's his name?"

"You just met Panem's own Cato King."

* * *

**A/N: **hiiii :) I think it's time for the long first chapter author's note, hbu :)

I know stopped writing a while ago, but I'm back I promise. so yaaaa I've been wanting to write a high school fanfic but I've just never really done it until now, so here it is and I hope you guys enjoy this

This story will mostly, if not always, in Clove's POV. If you guys want a POV switch I'd be up for that, but the first 5 chapters or so will be Clove. (and if I change POV I stay that way for the entire chapter)

T for a rating because of swearing and some alcohol and stuff and if I ever do like detailed smut I will make it 102% obvious that I am so you can skip over it if you feel uncomfortable reading that stuff, but I might not do scenes like that at all so don't worry. :)

please please please review :) I want to know what you guys think and all of that jazz

**NU: **Friday {3/28}


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything you recognize in this story.

**Rating: **T {swearing}

Chapter Two - Clove

After being dragged from the spot where I'd walked straight into Cato, who was apparently the spawn of Satan, by Katniss, who was the one that was telling me that the devil has a very attractive son that's now attending my boarding school, we end up back in front of the administration building. Katniss leads me into the building, where three students are in various stages of the check in process. Two of them, a boy with this bronze-colored hair and a girl with long, mousy brown waves, stand at the desk with their backs to me, hand in hand. The other has just strode into the room, his blonde curls stuck to his forehead with sweat. I don't see much else of him before Katniss runs at him.

I expected some hormonal reunion of a teenage couple that's been separated for a summer, full of awkward kissing and touching, complete with the oh-so-delightful sound effects. Instead, I saw a simple, friendly hug, saving my gag reflex some work. The only unfriendly thing was that they seemed less than willing to let go of each other.

So, as any good new friend would, when I felt the presence of the couple standing next to me, I asked them rather loudly, "So how many times have they hooked up?"

Apparently not nearly enough to get the teenagers in question to break apart, but the girl with the brown hair giggles softly. Her boyfriend, however, must be friends with the blonde boy, because he doesn't hesitate to announce, "None, because Peeta's too pussy to make a move on the love of his life."

The two break apart so they can glare at the boy and inform him that,_ for the last time_, the blonde boy named Peeta _was not_ in love with Katniss and she _was not_ in love with him, but the underlying reluctance to correct us and their flushed cheeks say differently. They walk side by side, making a point not to touch with their arms pressed stiffly against their sides.

"They'll be a couple in three months tops."

The boyfriend and girlfriend laugh at this, and I turn to face them. The bronze-haired boy stretches out his hand. "The name's Finnick," he introduces, smirking slightly as he has to shift his gaze about a half a foot down to meet my eyes, "and I'm assuming by your height you're a freshman?"

I smile sweetly back at him, "I'm Clove," I reach and grip his hand bone-crushingly hard, making him wince, "and I'm assuming you're an asshole?"

Finnick's mouth curves into a genuine smile, one much too big for his face, "Nice to meet you, Clove. I have a feeling we'll be good friends."

He slips his hand from mine to around the waist of his girlfriend, who's as pretty as Finnick is (an unsurprising fact, since attractive people tend to be drawn to each other by some force of nature), and she announces in a soft voice that her name is Annie Cresta, that she likes my outfit, and wants to know how I'm doing today.

I look down at my long-sleeved blue top, light wash jean shorts, and flip flops and then up at her purple floral print dress with a woven brown belt and matching sandals, decide that she must have sympathy towards the fashionably challenged, and tell her that "I'm doing good." Based on the bright smile I receive, I decide there's no need to ask how she's doing and just add on, "It's nice to meet you Annie."

"Nice to meet you too, Clove." Annie beams as Finnick moves his arm to around her shoulders and they gaze adoringly at each other.

My lip twitches up; I can't help it. It's disgusting but it's also cute.

Annie paves the way for some small talk: she and Finnick have been dating since they met at the school last year, and they are juniors too and that Annie needs to see my schedule so we can compare classes. After most of topics to discuss run out, there's an awkward lull in the conversation for a minute. A lull I'm used to, but nonetheless awkward, so I'm slightly relieved to hear Katniss' soft laugh from the desk breaking the silence, and I look back to see her laughing at a grinning Peeta.

"Yeah, three months time and they'll have their tongues down each other's throats." I say to the couple when I turn back around.

While his girlfriend nods, giggling again, Finnick tilts his head slightly, his easy smile faltering, "I say four."

"Why four?" Annie laughs, peering up at his face as best she can with his arm around her shoulders.

"Because I secretly agree with Clove, but I'd rather go more than three months without my best friend playing tonsil tennis with Katniss."

I smile again, laughing softly. Making friends seemed a lot harder than it was turning out to be. "Wanna bet, Finnick?"

He grins, "But of course. Stakes?"

"50 bucks?"

"Well," Finnick pauses, trying to stop smiling and sound serious, "That would require money, something which I do not have, since I spend all my money on this one." He puts up a hand to the left side of his mouth, the side Annie is on, but continues at a normal volume, "Don't tell her, but she's beyond worth it." Annie blushes, elbowing him a bit in the ribcage before he pulls her closer into him and kisses her on the top of her head.

I smile automatically at the couple in front of me, before stopping so I don't look like a creep when they stop looking at each other.

Another laugh comes from Katniss, and all of us turn to see Katniss holding her stomach as Peeta drops his pile of papers on the floor, and he joins Kat in laughter.

"How about 20 dollars? If they get together in December, you pay me the money. If they get together in January, you win and I'll pay you."

"Seems good to me, Cloverfield."

I snort at the nickname, holding out a hand to the bronze-haired boy as he holds out a pinky. I look up into his sea green eyes (which are nothing compared to ocean blue, let me tell you) and raise an eyebrow.

He smiles a bit sheepishly, "I don't know about you, but I take my pinky promises very seriously."

"Fair enough," I muse, folding my hand into a fist except for my pinky, which I then lock with Finn's.

"You realize I'm gonna beat your ass, right?"

"We'll see Finnick, we'll see,"

* * *

"Bye Clove!" Annie called to me, Katniss nodding to me as the two walk into room 35 side by side.

There is a buzz traveling through the dormitory, growing as more people are arriving. The elevators are pressed against the center of a wall, and the walls of the dorms next to them jut out, which creates enough space for a table with flowers to be placed between the elevator doors and the corners of the walls. If you face the elevators head on, then room 31 is to their left and 35 is on the right. 32 is directly across from 31, likewise with 34 and 35, and windows are on the unused part of the walls where the hardwood of the hallways meets the brick of the walls.

And then there's my room, directly across from the elevators, and the door is slightly open.

_Weird. I remember closing it wh-_

I literally smack my forehead with my hand.

_It's your roommate dumbass._

I look down to make sure I look okay, run a hand over the top of my head to make sure there are no bumps, and then take a deep breath in to steady myself. I'm more concerned about becoming friends with my roommate then I was with becoming friends with anyone else, so I want to make a good impression. After all, I'll have to live with them until June came around. I breathe out slowly, and push the door open all the way as I walk in.

My eyes immediately land on my roommate, who's back is to me as she tosses her bedding up to the top bunk. She has bright red hair, and is wearing jeans and a beige tanktop with a pair of white converse on her feet. She turns around and her blue eyes catch mine, and they size me up quickly and calculatingly. Her features are sharp, too; she seems smart and cunning and sort of scary.

She walks over to me and sticks out a hand, "Jacqueline Foxworthy."

I grab her hand and shake it. "Clove Flare", I smile.

I get no smile back, and she turns around again.

_Not a smiler. Noted._

"How are you?"

Jacqueline looks over her shoulder at me like I've grown two heads, "I'm good."

"Same here." I deadpan. We just look at each other awkwardly for a few moments, waiting for the other to say the first word. "Do you like the school so far?

"Yeah." she says, turning the rest of herself around and leaning back against the bunk bed.

I clear my throat and try again, "What district are you from?"

She smiles slightly, probably because she's thinking of her home, "Five. It's alright there. There's a few major cities, and a lot of power plants and factories are being put in. I live in the suburbs of a city, but we still get all the pollution and traffic and the people and sometimes there's mass blackouts because of all the places on the grid using electricity. It's getting really crowded and stuff, and the city officials are deeming the air…"

I kind of zone out once she starts to deem the air this and that. I feel bad, because here she is talking, which is what I've been wanting her to do, and I'm just sitting here. But listening to my roommate drone on and on about the air in District Five is not high on my list of things I want to do right now.

"I'm sorry,", Jacqueline says, bringing me back to reality. She runs her hands over her face slowly before continuing, "I know it's probably really boring, I tend to just talk even if no one's listening. It's just," she pauses, cracking her knuckles idly, "It's home you know? It sucks and it's dirty and it's overpopulated, but it's home."

"It's your district." I say, "You're kind of taught to like it even if it sucks."

She snorts, "True, true."

"I'm from Distr-"

"Two. I can tell by your accent." she tells me, and I bring my hand up to cover my mouth. She hurriedly adds, "Oh no, it's not a bad one! It's actually really cool,". She tugs a hand through her hair, playing with the ends as she speaks,"So, I know I wasn't exactly sunshine and lollipops before, but I thought you were gonna be one of them," she jerks her thumb at the wall dividing us from room 32, where most of the laughing is coming from. "I mean, normally I'm not the most sunshiney person anyway, but I'm not _that_ bad."

"Good to know. I'm not much of a ray of sunshine myself, either."

"Then it works out great," Jacqueline says, giving me a real smile this time. She looks at the clock on her bedside table, which reads 3:45. "I'm gonna go walk around and get a feel for the campus."

"Okay, I'll probably still be here when you get back, Jacqueline."

She cringes, "Please call me Jackie."

"Can I call you Fox?" I ask. The face she makes is priceless. "Oh I'm definitely calling you Fox now."

"Oh no you won't." she laughs, shaking her head.

"We'll see," I say in a sing-song voice.

"Bye, Clove." she calls, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

"Wait, what's her name?" Katniss says, tugging her legs into criss-cross-applesauce position. Annie and Katniss had dragged me to their room, insisting that they already knew each other so well that there was nothing to talk about and that all I needed to was "sit there and be interesting".

"Jacqueline Foxworthy, but she says I can call her Fox."

"Never heard of her," Annie says, who is laying on the bed next to Katniss', where Kat and I are sitting. "So she must be new."

"Is she nice?"

"Yeah, she's good. Neither of us are the most outgoing of characters, but she's nice so it will be good to room with her." I look over at the third bed in the room, which is covered with a baby blue blanket and has three pillows at it's head. "Who's yours?"

"Some girl named Madge Undersee." Katniss says, before correcting herself, "Well she's not some girl. I met her back in Twelve. We both live up there, but in different parts. I met her while we were at a nature camp one summer. She cried when dirt got on her boots during a hike, so she's spoiled."

"Nice though," Annie cut in. "She's really polite and sort of innocent."

"She'll be swept up by the Preppy Princesses in no time," Kat huffs.

"What's a-" I start, but Kat interrupts.

"I'll explain the first day of classes. Visuals help. But basically it's the group of preppy girls who think they're hot shit when they're actually just room-temperature shit."

I laugh, "I know the type."

She smiles at me, before throwing a pillow at Annie, who has been silent for the past few minutes. She throws the pillow back at Katniss, sitting up on her bed.

"I wasn't sleeping, you know," Annie yawns.

"Of course not. Is it 4 yet?"

Annie leans over to look at the alarm clock, "Yeah, 4:23. Why?"

"Because I want to take a nap before we head over to Peet and Finn's dorm." Kat looks over at me briefly, addressing me with a, "You're coming, by the way," before asking Annie to set it to go off at 6 as she lays down.

Katniss is one of those people who falls asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow, so Annie quietly offers to walk back to my room with me.

"So you're coming right?" Annie asks once she's shut the door behind us, "It's just gonna be like a casual thing where we all get together and talk about our summer for two or three hours."

"Yeah, sure. If it's okay with everyone?"

"Totally! There's still a few people you need to meet that will be there, so I'll introduce you to them. Plus there's food."

"Well now there's no way I can say no." I say jokingly, and Annie giggles. "But yeah, I'll be there. Come and get me when you and Kat go?"

"Yeah, no problem," Annie tells me as I unlock my door. She waves and turns around, calling over her shoulder, "See you at six, Clo!"

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry if this isn't the best. I had standardized testing 3 out of 5 days this week so my brain is basically mush. Only one more chapter before classes start and then stuff will start to happen. Next chapter is going to introduce basically everyone who will be significant in this fanfic, sooo ya. Haha see you guys next week xxx

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**NU: **Friday {4/4}


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything you recognize in this story

**Rating:** T {swearing}

Chapter Three - Clove

"So, who do I have to be prepared to meet?" I ask Annie and Katniss as we come to a stop outside of Finnick and Peeta's dorm room. The boys dorm is identical to ours; longue on the ground floor, and then the freshman, the sophomores above the freshies, the juniors above them, and then the seniors above us. There are five dorms on each floor, and we're standing outside number 34, a room that will be identical to the room 34 in the girls dorm.

Kat pounds on the door with the flat of her hand, and Annie rolls her eyes into the back of her head, thinking. "Uhm, a guy and a girl. Both are kinda rough around the edges, some crude humour, but they're genuinely good people. We wouldn't hang around with people who weren't." I nod in response to Annie, and Katniss is still pounding away.

"Alright! I'm coming! Just don't break the door, Kat!" an exasperated Finnick shouts from behind the door.

The door is pulled slowly open to reveal Finnick, who looks cautiously at Katniss. She smiles at him, while letting out a breath and shaking her head. She squeezes through the crack between the door and the doorframe, I hear a "Finn, why'd you let her in!" from inside, and Finnick opens the door fully for me and Annie and closes it behind us.

There's not many noticeable differences to Kat and Annie's room. There's two single beds against the wall nearest to the door, but since it's only a double there is a second desk instead of a third bed. Their sliding door is on the back wall, and there's a second window on the wall opposite the two beds, and between the glass door and the window the view of the sunset is amazing.

Peeta is stretched out on his bed, but is pulling himself into a sitting position so Katniss can sit next to him. Finnick grabs Annie by the hand and they sit together up against the pillows on his own bed, his arm around her. A guy with the same dark hair and grey eyes as Katniss sits with his chest against the back of the swivel chair that is at the desk, and a girl with brown hair and wide brown eyes lays on the floor, lit cigarette in her mouth. I ungraciously fall to the ground next to the girl, and she laughs at me but doesn't sit up as she starts to talk to me.

"My name's Johanna," she says, and I can immediately identify her voice as the one I heard when Finnick let Kat in. She pauses and takes the cigarette out of her mouth, "And I'm going to have one of these in my mouth when we aren't in class. I'm trying to quit it, because down here everyone's always preaching about how awful it is. People back in Seven don't mind it much."

I nod, "So you've been smoking for a while?" I hug my knees against my chest and look at her. Everyone else is involved in their own conversations.

"Yeah, I guess. A year now. I ran out last year and I was awful, always in a horrible, bitchy mood" she smirks, "I'm called the Queen of Bitches. I beat the Preppy Princesses anyday."

I laugh, "Oh yeah, Kat told me about them. Who are they?"

"Their names are Glimmer, Cashmere, and Delly. Sluterella, Whoriel, and Bimbelle respectively. And those names actually say a lot about them, the girls are like the princess I paired them with. Like Delly's boyfriend is called 'The Beast' in football. Belle falls in love with the beast, Delly's a bimbo, viola! Bimbelle!" Johanna pauses as I double over in laughter. "I don't call them that face to face though. That would imply that I've put thought into them, and until they stop calling me axe girl, I don't know their names."

"But when talk about them like we are right now?"

"If you call them anything else I'd un-associate myself with you." she laughs, although I'm not sure that she's joking, and then looks at her feet and curls her toes under her feet, "I mean, they're not all that bad. They try to be nice, they're just kinda too into themselves." she looks up at me, "But don't tell people I, like, get it and shit. I have a reputation to withhold and enemies to keep."

"Deal,"

She sits up and sticks out a hand, and I shake it. She retracts her arm and presses her palms flat to the ground, and then twists to crack her back before getting to her feet. "What's your name, anyway?" she asks me while slipping on her flip flops and pulling her sweatshirt down to cover the gap of skin that was between the sweatshirt's hem and her shorts.

"Clove Flare," I smile up at her.

Johanna mouths my name silently, as if testing it out. She turns to me and grins, "I like it," and then goes to walk straight out the door, but as she pulls the door open, a tall guy with light brown hair is standing there, hand raised in preparation to knock. He staggers back a bit in shock, but then realizes what happened and walks in. Johanna stays at the door, half in and half out of the dorm room.

"Finnick, I can't take it anymore. I've only been in there for like two and a half hours and I can't take it. _He never shuts up._"

"Careful there, your District One is showing." Finnick says, and introduces him to us after a nudge from Annie. He points at the tall boy, "Marvel," Finnick says as he moves his hand from Marvel to us. "This is my clique." Peeta laughs loudly, and the rest of us roll our eyes while smiling. "My clique, this is the Marvelous Marvster." Johanna snorts, and Marvel grins at her.

"You're new here?" Peeta asks, getting up to greet him.

"Yep, and my roommate is Gloss." Peeta cringes at Marvel's announcement, and Marvel continues, "Yeah. It's worse than you'd think."

"Who's Gloss?" I ask, looking around.

"Gloss Mercier. Twins with Cashmere, dating Delly, and convinced he's God's gift to the sport of basketball." Katniss tells me, rolling her eyes.

"He, like, never shuts up about basketball. Like, this school didn't even have a team last year. Does anyone even know if he's any good?" Marvel asks, looking at the three guys in the room.

"Don't know, but he probably isn't. He talks about how amazing he is too much to actually be any good." Gale, the name of the boy on the chair according to Katniss' loud conversation with him, speaks his first full sentence since I've been in the room.

"I'll ask him. God knows he won't hesitate to tell me all about it." Marvel rolls his eyes. He looks over at Johanna, who's on her phone, and asks her for the time.

"8:32," Johanna tells him, "Why?"

"I have to call my parents and tell them I made it to school safe and on time." he says, "See you guys tomorrow." and he walks out past Johanna, who watched him as he goes.

"He's nice. He doesn't deserve Gloss as a roommate," Annie says decidedly.

"Does anyone?" Finnick says, and she giggles as she looks up at him.

"Bye guys!" Johanna calls, leaving us to call out hurried goodbyes before the door slams shut behind her.

"That was an exit," I say, turning to look at everyone else in the room.

"Like I said," Annie breaks the silence, "Jo's a bit blunt, and kinda rough around the edges."

I shrug, "I liked her," and turn to properly introduce myself to the guy who's sitting on the chair who had spent the whole time I was talking to Johanna staring at her. "Oh and by the way, my name's Clove,"

He meets my eyes for a moment, before muttering "Gale." and turning away.

I turn and look at Annie with widened eyes, and she mouths 'he's really rough' and I laugh silently to myself.

"So," Peeta drawls out in the silence, "How were your guys' summer's?"

"Mine was good," Finn begins, "Me and my fa-"

"Oh hush." Annie waves her hand in front of Finnick, "Sorry not sorry, but we aren't gonna spend the only night we have together before school starts with talking about our summers'. We already know how everyone's summer was, except for Clove's, because there's a wonderful thing called phones. So as Clove passes around her phone so we can put our number's in, she'll tell us all about hers."

I slip my phone out of my pocket and toss it up onto to Finnick's bed. "Uhm, I guess I didn't do much. I stayed in Two, hung around with my friends and sister, and that's about it. I'm not very exciting."

"I reject that," Finnick says as he hands my phone to Annie, "The girl that crushed my hand in the administration office was very exciting."

I laugh softly, and as she tosses the phone at Katniss, Annie asks me, "And non-exciting girls don't have stories about a run-ins with the one and only Cato King?"

I look pointedly at Katniss, who glances up at me to grin, telling me she was the one to tell Annie about Cato, and roll my eyes. "Well, me and Katniss were walking to meet you guys, and when we walked around the corner, I ran into him and then we continued walking. I don't know, that's about all that happened."

Peeta purses his lips at the mention of Cato, and takes the phone from Kat and puts in his own number. I make a mental note to ask Annie or Jo about what happened between Cato and Peeta later.

"Let's see his side of the story," Finnick says decidedly. I'm about to ask what he means when he starts slamming the wall shared with room 33 with the palm of his hand.

There's a single knock before the door swings open, "Finnick, what the fu-" Cato stops as his eyes meet mine, and he leans back against the door frame, not breaking eye contact, "Hey."

"Hi," I say softly, smiling.

Annie aww's while Katniss let's out a guttural noise, and I look over to make sure she isn't puking.

He looks uncomfortable after he sees Katniss and Peeta in the room, but refocuses on me. "What's your name?"

"Clove." I say as I absentmindedly smooth my hair, and Cato smiled at me.

"I'm Cato, and now that I've made sure Finn's not dying," he looks at Finnick who shoots him a thumbs up and a wide grin, "I'm gonna go back to my room. See you tomorrow," he looks directly at me as he says the last part, and my stomach does a little flip and I smile big enough that my face starts to hurt, and he smiles back at me.

Once the door has shut, Katniss announces, "Well that was disgusting."

Finnick looks over at her, "Now you know how we feel about you and Peeta."

Katniss blushes furiously, and storms out of the room, but says a quick goodbye to Peeta before going. Annie kisses Finnick before untangling herself from him, and I awkwardly wave at them, smiling as we go.

"They're nice." I smile.

Annie smiles back, "They are. I think you'll like it here. There's some great people that go here.

Katniss calls out from ahead of us, "And don't worry. You'll get to meet all the of the bad ones in class tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: **Hiiii loves, here's a chapter for your Friday xx

I'm trying writing shorter chapters. This one is a little over 2,000 words, last one was 2,500, and the first was a little over 3,000. if you review, tell me what length you like the best :)

I've had a really bad week uuuggghhh I'm 307% done with the people at my school tbh ::)) my courses are sucking too (quadratics are killing my average ugh ugh ugh) buuuut I hope your guys' week's have been better.

if you like it, please review and follow and favorite and all that jazz. see ya next week :)

**Reviews: **houseofme: AHH you're awesome thank you so much :)  
Ibbonray: that was one of my favorite reviews like ever. AND HE SHOWED UP AYEE haha.

**Thank you to Ibbonray, cookie girl101, I'm , StitchedSanity, Divergentrebelfourtris, and hgfan16 for following!  
****Thank you to houseofme, bakersgirl18, Odestalovebaby, Ibbonray, and Obsessionisthesolution for favoriting!**

**NU: **Friday {4/11} (do you guys want me to start doing that five reviews=early update? bc other than that I will update on Fridays)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything you recognize in this story

**Rating:** T {swearing}

Chapter Four - Clove

Marimba starts blaring beside me, and I wake up with a jump. I groan and roll over, blindly pressing at my iPhone until it shuts up. Swiping at my eyes sleepily, I blink rapidly until I make out the time: 7:45

_Why in Panem would I make myself wake up this early?_

"Finally, you're up."

I jump again, and my heart speeds up even though I had already connected the voice to Fox. I look over at her, and see her up on her bunk, fully dressed and looking up at me briefly before looking back down at the binders putting together.

"Finally?" I yawn loudly, stretching up.

"Yeah, finally. I've been up since 6."

"I'm pretty sure anything before 11 o'clock is too early to function, let alone learn."

She smiles, "Your first class is before 11 though, since we have to get to homerooms by 9. So you might want to get up. I got up early so it wasn't awful in the bathroom, which are next to room 41, by the way, since pretty much everyone else was still asleep. You won't be so lucky, because all the rest of the girls have a 9 o'clock, too. Unless you, like, get in and get out right now."

I send off a quick text to Annie to wake her up, relying on Annie to wake up Kat since she seems like the person who can sleep through a fire alarm so a text would do nothing, and roll off the bed and onto the carpet. I get my shower caddy out of my luggage and pull my hair out of the messy bun that I always sleep in as I get to my feet.

"You'll still be in here when I get back, right?" I ask Fox, who purses her lips in thought and then slowly nods, so I take my key anyway because being locked out of my room in a towel on the first day of school is not at the top of my list of things to do.

I pad softly across the hallway in my fuzzy socks and into the bathroom. I step into a shower stall, and after messing with the handle for a moment, I get a steady stream to come out of the shower head. I peel off the socks, strip out of my pajamas, and put on my plastic flip flops before stepping under the lukewarm water. I twist the handle slightly in one direction, actually let out a screech as freezing water pours over me. Spluttering, I yank it in the opposite direction, and then find myself hissing at the boiling water. I give up on the shower, decide to deal with the embarrassment of having to ask Fox how it works later, and turn it back to lukewarm. I roll my eyes as I lather, rinse, and repeat with my lavender shampoo and then run conditioner through my tangled hair. I hum softly to myself as I finish up my shower, and then step out and wrap myself in the towel I snatched on my way into the stall. I pack up my caddy, double check that my towel is secure, and sprint back to my room, which Fox left open. As I walk in, she walks out with her bag on her shoulders, telling me she was going to the cafeteria for breakfast.

My shower caddy finds it way back to the ground as well as my clothes, and I fall back onto the bed and grab my phone. I open Instagram, and I make a mental note, which I'm 97% guaranteed to forget, to tell Annie and Kat about later so the people here can follow me. After swiping through my feed, I check my snapchat, look briefly at my Twitter to see if I have any mentions (which I do, from people back in Two saying they'll miss me on the first day of school), and then go onto Tumblr, telling myself at 8:20 I'll pick out a nice outfit and get ready and look nice.

I'm working on a theory that time speeds up while you're using Tumblr, and because of the inexplicable occurrence I find myself almost throwing my phone when I get a text from Annie telling me quarter past has turned to quarter of.

_*It's 8:45, do u want me to come and get u so I can walk u to class?*_

Cursing softly under my breath, I send a text back.

_*Ya I'll be out in 2 minutes*_

I run to the closet, and throw on skinny jeans, a black t-shirt with a lacy design, and then slide on my Sperry's. I pull my slightly wet hair up into a high ponytail, and then grab my backpack, jamming my schedule inside. I get my phone and my key, and lock the door behind me as I leave.

Annie and Kat are waiting by the elevators, and Annie sees me first and moves to hit the down button, but Katniss knocks her hand out of the way and presses it herself, grinning widely. I laugh and Annie rolls her eyes while cracking a smile, and then we hop on the elevator and ride to the lobby in silence.

* * *

"Okay, this is your homeroom," Annie and Kat finally announce after wandering the academic building for a good 10 minutes. They say that the science teacher insists that everyone call him Professor only, but his name's Beetee. He's really nice apparently, and married to one of the other science teachers who has her students call her by her first name only: Wiress. Kat says I'll have Beetee for biology this semester and Wiress for chemistry the next, and that she has the opposite.

I start walking into the room, and realize I'm the first one here. It's a slightly expansive room, and six table groups are spread through the space. Beetee is at the front of the room at his desk, reading a book. Behind him is the white board, and in all caps is written: PROFESSOR BEETEE and below it: SIT ANYWHERE FOR HOMEROOM

I clench my jaw. I hate free seating. I always feel like no matter where I sit, I'm taking a spot that someone else would want to sit in. I roll my eyes at my own awkwardness, and hesitantly sit down at one of the middle two tables.

A bunch of people I don't know file in slowly, and then I see a familiar face: Jo.

She sits down across from me, grinning widely. "Hey, I know you!"

I snort, "Yeah, I know you too."

Jo skips the rest of the pleasantries and starts ranting about her roommate, which I only half listen to, and then a tall girl with blonde hair and blue eyes walks into the room. She sits down next to Jo, and smiles softly and politely.

"Hi," she looks back and forth between me and Johanna, waiting for one of us to recognize her, "I'm Madge." I look at Jo, who shrugs back at me, and then tilt my head and look at Madge again. "You guys must be Johanna and Clove, I've heard a lot about you from my roommates."

My mouth forms an 'o', and I nod in understanding. She smiles at me, I smile at her, and Jo scowls at her.

"Did they actually tell you about us, or did you just listen in on their conversation?" Jo asks, not coldly though, more just bored with Madge already. The girl in question blushes. "Yeah, that's what I figured. Look why don't you just g-"

"Jo." I cut her off coldly and send a look at her telling her to knock off her shit, and she raises her hands in defense.

I roll my eyes, and try to smile at Madge again, but the damage is already done. When the bell for first period rings, Madge gets up and leaves immediately. I frown, and make another mental note to try to talk to her later.

Jo grabs her bag and starts walking next to me.

"That was bitchy," I tell her under my breath.

"Like I said," Jo heaves her bag up and on to her shoulder, "Reputation."

* * *

"Come in, sit down, and let's get started." the math teacher booms as soon as we start trickling in through the door. He's got blonde hair, the grey eyes Katniss has (which she says is a District Twelve kind of thing), and a flask in his hand, which he keeps bringing to his lips.

"Oh, hold on," he says, holding out his hand to stop two girls from sitting down. He pulls out a seating chart, gets us situated, and clears his throat. "I'm Haymitch Abernathy. Call me whatever you want, as long as it includes Haymitch or Abernathy and there's no swears involved." He runs a hand over his hair as he takes a drink, and then looks back at us. "I'll be teaching you guys math this year. We'll cover a variety of topics that will prepare you for pre-calc, and in some of your guys' cases, calculus itself next year. Today, we won't be learning, but we'll still be doing some boring stuff so don't get too excited over there." He smiles at two boys across the room, who had reached over to high five each other, and their hands slowly fall to their sides.

Mr. Abernathy begins handing out all the papers we'll need for the semester: the syllabus, supplies we'll need, expectations, and a bunch of other shit I guarantee no one in the room will glance at after today's class ends. We spend the period going over all the papers, and we all jump up and rush out of the classroom when the bell rings, and I can hear Mr. Abernathy chuckling at us as we go.

English with Mr. Heavensbee isn't much better than math, and I find myself in a class with the most annoying boy I've ever met: Gloss Mercier.

I find myself cringing and rolling my eyes at every word that comes out of his mouth, and grit my teeth when he laughs this hyena-whale-horse cackley-thing. I don't know how Marvel is gonna survive him, to be honest.

We get a list of the books we'll be reading and take a quick pre-assessment, and then we are released to go to lunch after the bell rings.

* * *

The cafeteria is huge, but I immediately spot Fox sitting alone after getting my food from the lunch line. I start heading over to her, but I hear Finnick and Peeta call out my name. I shoot a sympathetic look to Fox, and she waves me on, giving me a smile and looking back down to her food.

I slide into the seat across from Finnick, and am soon surround by everyone in our "clique". I kind of zone out of the conversation a bit, like I'm paying attention but not contributing. I overhear gossip on the preppy princesses, something about us all going to the movies this Friday, Annie and Finn's quiet flirting, Marvel complaining about his classes, which culminates in a teacher conversation (apparently some kids got to have their elective today, and drama was not the way to go because the teacher has emotional problems bigger than her hair), and I even hear that some of the new kids are already hooking up. I've never even had a legitimate boyfriend of more than a month, but I decide not to chime in for the first time with that and stay eating my food in silence.

The bell soon rings, signaling our half hour is up, and we walk back to our classes in a group, and I laugh and smile along, but I'm really just thinking about getting back to my dorm and sleeping for the next four days. Even though we've done literally nothing, I'm exhausted already on the first day, which isn't a good sign for the rest of the school year.

* * *

I end up back in Beetee's classroom for science, and find everyone standing by the doorway. The desks have now been split, and there are 12 two-person desks with stools. Professor Beetee is assigning us to sit with our lab partners, who "we'll be with for the rest of the semester" and no, "they won't be changed even if we don't like them."

"Okay, so here," he taps on the desk directly in front of his, "I want Darius and Bonnie. And next to them I would like Thom and Cecilia." and he goes through the desks. It's not until he hits the fourth row do I hear, "And Clove, please sit here," he points at the desk next to the window, "with Cato."

Cato sends me a smirk, and I roll my eyes and smile as I take a seat. His stool makes a groaning noise as he sit, his broad shoulder touching mine as he sits down. He opens his mouth to say something, but the Professor booms, "No talking, Mr. King!" and Cato silently mocks him as Beetee begins his spiel and I hold back a laugh.

Cato keeps doing stupid little things to get my attention and annoy me, and I keep having to subtly make him stop while trying to not laugh myself. About halfway through the period I do end up laughing, and Beetee sends us a glare before continuing and Cato has to try to not laugh as well.

We don't talk the rest of the period, but Cato nudges me and wiggles his eyebrows when Beetee says we'll be reviewing body systems such as the reproductive system, and I nudge him back, laughing softly at his immaturity.

The bell rings and Beetee passes out several papers, including our homework assignment, and I shove all my papers into my bag and say good bye to Cato, waving over my shoulder at him as he grins back.

* * *

I walk into Seneca Crane's classroom, and my schedule tells me he'll be my history teacher for the entirety of the year. Which I don't think I can handle, because of his beard. I really, really want to laugh, but I take a deep breath, and walk over to where Kat and Annie are waving like freaks as if I couldn't see them in the room.

Seneca proves to be another one of the boring teachers, and talks and talks the entire class, but flips whenever he hears another person even make a sound. So the three of us start communicating through sighs and eye rolls as Mr. Crane starts discussing what we'll learn and how long the units will be and the expectations an-

The bell rings, cutting off Mr. Crane mid sentence, and he glares at the clock as we all jump up and leave, not paying attention to what he's calling out to us about how we'll really start tomorrow or something.

"So," Kat says as Annie and I fall into step with her, "How were your guys' days?"

Annie starts talking in response, and I look over and see Cato talking with Gloss and Thresh from English class. His blue eyes catch mine, and he flashes his bright grin at me.

"How 'bout you, Clo?" Katniss asks me.

"Actually," I smile, looking back at Cato who was returned to his conversation, "Pretty great."

* * *

**A/N: **if you don't have a Gloss in your life then bless your innocent soul.

hiiii guys haha sorry I didn't update earlier in the day but here I am *throws glitter* and I actually had a pretty fantabulous week which is really really weird but haha. but ahhh I'm gonna be really really really busy next week :(( so I might not be able to update but I will try my best :))

**Thank you to Ibbonray, cookie girl101, I'm , StitchedSanity, Divergentrebelfourtris, hgfan16, , slytherin955, KandyandSweets, and j****eenathespe****ctrobesprincess for following!  
****Thank you to houseofme, bakersgirl18, Odestalovebaby, Ibbonray, Obsessionisthesolution, , and Tyia for favoriting!**

**NU: **ahhh idkk if I can get it out next Friday I will but definitely by Saturday night. you can check or just follow and that will tell you when I do sooo ya haha byee xx


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